The present invention relates generally to object feeding mechanisms, and in the present instance is more particularly concerned with a mechanism for the feeding of fruit to a fruit juice extracting apparatus.
Fruit juice extracting apparatuses as currently being utilized in the industry includes a number of different types wherein the juice extracting components are coordinated to operate in a different manner. Regardless of the particular type, its potential capacity is determined by what may be termed the cup rate per minute passing through the reaming or extraction zone. However, the actual capacity of the juice extracting mechanism is measured by the actual percentage of cups that are loaded with fruit.
For example, in a juice extracting machine as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,103,239 in which fruit is conducted from a hopper to the juice extractor by means of chain conveyor mounted cups, a full hopper does not in practice load the fruit conveying cups to more than 60-65%. Thus, the actual capacity of this type of juice extractor can be materially increased by more fully loading the conveyor cups.
Also, in another well known juice extractor of the disc type, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,161,123 wherein the whole fruit is conducted by a simple belt conveyor to a receiving opening for a pathway leading to the discs, the actual capacity is dependent upon the continuity of the supplied fruit and whether or not it is delivered at a maximum uniform rate rather than at non-uniform or reduced rate.
As will be apparent, the problem of feeding the fruit to the juice extracting apparatus becomes one of considerable importance, if the juice extracting apparatus is to be operated most efficiently, and as near as possible to its potential capacity.
Accordingly, as one solution of the problem, a number of rotating type feeding mechanisms have been developed and designed as a built-in component of the juice extracting apparatus.
One such arrangement is that exemplified by U.S. Pat. No. 3,858,500 which utilizes a horizontally rotatable feeder from which fruit is deflected by a fixed cam into a cross-over path leading to the juice extracting components. In practice, this arrangement is not entirely satisfactory under certain conditions, and fruit may be crushed, abraded or otherwise damaged. Moreover, soft or loose peel fruit such as tangerines could not be satisfactorily handled in this type of feeder.
Another known type of rotary feeder is that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,342,314, which utilizes a vertically rotatable feeder wheel for feeding the fruit from a side entry hopper into chain converyor pockets that carry the fruit to juice extracting reamers. Even with this type of feeder, all the pockets are not filled by the hopper, and the efficiency of this arrangement is of the order of about 75%.
The present invention seeks to provide an improved rotary feeder mechanism which is capable of being attached to and operable with different types of juice extracting apparatuses and, in particular, juice extracting apparatus such as disclosed in the above noted U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,103,239; 3,161,123; and 3,858,500 in which case it would be utilized to feed the fruit to the vertical rotary feeder as shown therein. Thus, use of the fruit feeding mechanism of the present invention with any one of the fruit juice extracting embodiments disclosed in these patents, would materially increase its efficiency of operation.